‘Crush’ – Spend Valentine’s Day With This Overlooked Teen Thriller from 2013

At a quick glance, the 2013 film Crush looks to be a rehash of the Alicia Silverstone-starring thriller The Crush, except now with a teenager on the receiving end of stalking. However, despite their surface similarities, the two films ultimately diverge in story. Also sweetening that pot of low genre pleasures here is the various depictions of infatuation. For this reason, Crush is more perceptive than its familiar pitch might suggest.

Director Malik Bader and writer Sonny Mallhi combined the tangibility of horror with the psychological intrigue and criminality of thrillers, as is evident from their film’s opening scene. To show it wasn’t playing around, Crush does something that even most horror films would shy away from; it bumps off a child in the first few minutes. Murders him, in fact. The death in question follows a casual chat between young friends (Ashleigh Craig, Cody Hamilton), whose adorable activity of “penny for your thoughts” turns deeply ugly. The potential for harm is undetectable here until the nameless boy makes a fatal mistake; there on the roof of that two-story house, he tells his pal that he kissed another girl. The wrong girl, in her mind.

From there the heartbroken party, after sulking like children often do, shoves her unsuspecting friend off the roof. His unanswered pleas for help are soon replaced with the sickening thud of his body hitting the ground below. With this flashback, the film staunchly sets its tone and foretells the madness to come.

Crush goes to great lengths to prove the victim’s appeal to his multiple admirers. Indeed, Lucas Till’s character Scott Norris is the sun of this small universe where, apparently, all other men his age are deemed less attractive. Evidence of Scott’s inescapable allure is first delivered with shots of his school trophies and yearbook-worthy achievements, not to mention a glimpse into his social popularity. Most of all, his athletic prowess is flaunted, namely a strapping physique that is continually shown half-clothed, clad in fitted shirts, or inches away from total undress. Undoubtedly, these moments elicit a frisson of desire in Scott’s devotees — maybe the audience as well.

Image: Someone draws a heart around Lucas Till’s character’s yearbook photo in Crush.

There is a popular adage that says a crush is just a lack of information. This is true in Scott’s case of unwanted attention, seeing as his admirers base their fixation on what little they know about him. The most plainly guilty of Scott’s obsessed fans, the socially unfit Bess (Crystal Reed), sees the object of her affection as the big man on campus. Everyone either wants to be with Scott or they want to be him. He’s the sensitive artist trapped in a jock’s body, and he’s the athlete who stoically pushed through a near sports career-ending injury. Yes, Bess has painted an infallible image of Scott, but in actuality, what she sees and thinks is only just a small part of the whole and sometimes sad picture. Crush’s ability to illustrate that self-designed delusion is surprisingly capable.

In reality, crushes tend to fizzle out or lead to nowhere. They are, for the most part, unoffending little distractions in life. Meanwhile, this film demonstrates a spectrum of crushing; everything from innocent to worrisome is put on show here. While the most perilous of these examples is perhaps too excessive to be taken seriously, others feel more authentic. The most benign of them all is that of Scott’s “it’s complicated” best friend and main love interest, Jules (Sarah Bolger). She wears her heart on her sleeve and goes after what she wants, albeit in socially and lawfully acceptable ways. Jules has Scott’s teammates “abduct” him so he doesn’t skip out on yet another post-game party, and she sexually ambushes him at his house. There is also the risqué but welcome selfie she leaves on Scott’s phone, as a reminder of what he could easily have if he weren’t so put off by the idea of their dating. Mind you, Scott understands and wants to return Jules’ feelings, however, ill and unspoken emotions over his parents’ divorce deter him. Scott’s most immediate example of committed relationships has taught him the wrong lesson about love, to say the least.

Then there are the somewhat more problematic crushes on Scott, starting with his teacher, Mrs. Brown (Camille Guaty). She shows no seeable sign of her liking Scott until he is no longer her student and, presumably, of age and college bound. Mrs. Brown is sure to let her former student know she sees him running past her apartment every day, and she was willing to give his obviously CliffNotes-assisted assignment an A-minus, on account of her personal feelings. Scott never acts on this revelation, even after Mrs. Brown gives Scott her phone number; he seems more taken aback than interested. Nevertheless, the situation would trigger some folks’ morality alarm, and the film acts on that by having Mrs. Brown be punished harshly for her questionable behavior. Who is administering the sentence remains a mystery, for the time being.

Image: Caitríona Balfe as Andie in Crush.

The irony of a character like Bess is that she herself has an unwanted admirer. Lurking around her is Jeffrey (Reid Ewing), a classmate whose idea of wooing is also awkward and creepy. Jeffrey mainly serves as one of several red herrings in the story, but more importantly, he is a reflection of Bess. In her repulsion toward him, Bess begins to find self-awareness and wake up from her fantasy. The fact that Bess can recognize herself in Jeffrey, along with the film never showing her committing the crimes, points to her not being Scott’s stalker.

(There are spoilers beyond this point.)

So comes the time for Crush to unmask the real antagonist; that one character who has been harassing Jules, and the one who assaulted Scott’s teammate and Mrs. Brown. The distributor of this film already did the audience a disservice by blatantly spoiling the identity on the poster, but those fortunate enough to still be in the dark, might be shocked to learn Bess’ seemingly well-adjusted coworker, Andie (Caitríona Balfe), is the perpetrator. In hindsight, the clues were not too subtle, but they were drowned out by Bess’ suspicious doings and what looked to be Andie’s budding relationship with her work colleague (Leigh Whannell).

In lieu of the anticipated teen-on-teen terror, Crush mutates in its third act and becomes a nastier and more unambiguous story. One where Balfe’s madwoman of a character is now exposed and keeping her hobbled victim locked up in the basement. At no real cost to itself, this tawdry film’s ending plays out like 2000s torture horror if told through a Lifetime lens. It is arguable that Crush’s middle chunk is too tame for its own good or a horror hound’s liking, however, the story bookends are not only complementary but also indulgently twisted.

No one, including itself, expects Crush to be completely original; the star himself detected notes of genre grandsire Swimfan. Between the ropier and routine parts, though, is the haphazard effort to explore the core subject matter. It’s only a fleeting inspection, of course, yet at the same time, that feels rather appropriate for a film like Crush.

Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Image: Leigh Whannell as David in Crush.

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